While some donors are sometimes skeptical if their charitable dollars are really making an impact, a young Oakville boy with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) is living proof that a local fundraiser is indeed making a difference, close to home.
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Amazing Race to support boy and those with DMD. RAISING HELP: Pictured is Eric Morden (centre) who is living with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, flanked by his aunt and uncle Ted Lindsay and Heather Johnston. Submitted photo |
While some donors are sometimes skeptical if their charitable dollars are really making an impact, a young Oakville boy with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is living proof that a local fundraiser is indeed making a difference, close to home.
Eleven-year-old Eric Morden is past the age where most afflicted with the disease are unable to walk and yet, he continues to walk with the help of medications. This year, he was chosen to be part of a major double blind study for boys with DMD.
“The fact that this test is available in London (Ontario) can be directly linked to Jesse’s Journey and even some of the research dollars raised by Eric’s Amazing Race,” said Burlington resident Ted Lindsay, Eric’s uncle and advertising manager at a Metroland newspaper. “To quote Jesse Davidson, ‘people should work together to make research happen because when people work together miracles happen,’” he added.
Lindsay and his wife, Heather Johnston, founded Eric’s Amazing Race, a local car rally and silent auction, after learning of their nephew’s diagnosis with the disorder in November 2002. Rather than accept the news passively, they decided to face it head-on by organizing a fundraiser in support of research into the disorder characterized by muscle degeneration, loss of ambulation and eventually death.
The rally that runs along north Flamborough and Burlington roads when the autumn colours are at their prime seemed like the perfect event to support the cause as research into a cure is indeed a race against time.
The ninth annual Eric’s Race will be held Saturday, Nov. 5, starting about 1 p.m. at Bruce T. Lindley School, 2510 Cavendish Dr. in north Burlington and ending at the Waterdown Legion, where the auction will be held from 3 until 7 p.m.
Registration of race participants will start at the Burlington school at noon. The cost is $10 per person.
Last year’s turnout for the rally was a record, with 40 cars registering, representing a total of 120 participants. Most years, the rally attracts about 30 cars or 100 participants.
Over the past eight years, the event has raised more than $120,000, with all funds going to Jesse’s Journey, a charitable organization that raises funds for research into DMD and gene and stem cell therapies.
The foundation is named after Jesse Davidson, a London man who lost his life to DMD at age 29, just the day before the 2009 race. For more information, visit online at
www.jessesjourney.com.
“It’s a very family-friendly event,” Lindsay said of the rally and auction while lauding the support that he and his wife get every year from family and friends.
The auction, which drew close to 500 guests last year, features about 200 items donated by local businesses and individuals, including everything from tickets to Hamilton Bulldog games or the Ontario Science Centre to gift certificates and sports memorabilia. This year, several pieces of equipment autographed by hockey great Mario Lemieux will be up for auction.
Also new this year will be live entertainment by Semitone, a Burlington-based band composed of two acoustic guitar players who will entertain the crowd with classic rock.Lindsay said those who come out to support Eric’s Amazing Race can be assured that their support is having an impact.
“Literally, every dollar makes a difference, ” he said, adding that he’s convinced that research into the disorder has enabled his nephew to remain agile and mobile rather than bound to a wheelchair.
“He’s living it and he’s beating it, and that’s pretty cool,” he said of Eric’s battle with DMD.
According to Rick Moss, managing director of Jesse’s Journey, Eric and other boys are involved in a 52-week double blind study headed up by Dr. Craig Campbell at the Children’s Hospital in London. Eric gets shots there every week to help with muscle regeneration.
Moss said the study will prove helpful for those suffering from other neuromuscular diseases, such as ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) and MS (Multiple Sclerosis). He added that funds raised at Eric’s Amazing Race have been a great support for research and trials that are helping improve the lives of close to 2,000 boys afflicted with DMD across Canada.
For more information about the fundraiser or to make a donation either to Jesse’s Journey or the auction, please contact Lindsay at 905-331-6874
